Senate rules require an intervening day to pass between when a GOP leader files a motion to end dilatory debate and when the Senate votes on the motion.

That means if McConnell files cloture to end debate on Kavanaugh on Wednesday evening, the vote could take place Friday.

If he waits until Thursday morning, the Senate could vote on cloture one hour after the end of the day Friday, at 1:01 a.m. Saturday. The rules require a vote take place at least one hour after the chamber convenes on the second day.

McConnell vowed on Monday that the Senate would vote on Kavanaugh this week.

“The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close,” he said on the floor. “We’ll be voting this week.”

He reiterated Wednesday that the Senate would vote on Kavanaugh this week.

"The FBI is finishing up a supplemental background investigation. ... Then, pursuant to last week’s agreement of a delay no longer than one week, the Senate will vote on this nomination this week," he said from the Senate floor.

The FBI was tasked last week with investigating several sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, whose nomination has been stuck in limbo.

Under the original one-week timeline, the bureau has until Friday to finish its investigation but Republicans had been hopeful they would finish their work early enabling them to stick to their timeline of voting on Kavanaugh by the end of the week.

Senators aren't expecting the FBI to release findings or a determination as part of its investigation. Instead, they expect the bureau to turn over notes and transcripts, which would then be available for senators to review ahead of a vote.

"What we think is going to happen is they're going to transmit a stack of 302s where they went and talked to people. ... My understanding is they're just going to send raw data," Corker said.

“It’s going to be given to the Judiciary Committee and senators will be invited to come by and read it,” he said.

Democrats and some moderate swing-vote Republicans voiced concerns earlier this week that the White House was trying to micromanage and limit the investigation. A member of the legal team for Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's first accuser, told The Hill after the Senate GOP caucus lunch on Wednesday that they had not heard from the FBI.

But Republicans are hopeful that, absent a bombshell, the FBI report will help shore up GOP support for Kavanaugh, who remains short of the simple majority needed to be confirmed.

McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that the FBI's report will be available to be viewed by every senator but will not be released publicly, which is in line with how updates to background files are typically handled.

The issue has become a sticking point for Democrats, and some Republicans, who want at least part of the report or a summary of the report to be made public. Senators argue that otherwise the FBI's work will be selectively leaked and spun by both sides.

"The findings of the FBI investigation upon completion should be released publicly with any personal information redacted. This is not the usual practice but it's been done in the past when it's needed, and it's sure needed now," he said.